Hi daki - the mix I posted was actually a creme/white - maybe I should look for a green mix now!! The nice thing about the bigger tile is that it would look more like a wall of glass - I am just thinking now that I might see a wall of grout on my 1/2 by 1 inch glass mosaic. I was going to use a grey grout, but even so - and would all that grout be hard to clean behind the stove? I am glad that you dont think the grey would be too dark with the dark cabinets - I have a friend who is afraid it will be too dark and she is the one who is pushing 3 by 8 white subway tile as more neutral on resale.

Hi Laurie_2008, I really like my Mercier engineered wood flooring. I looked for over a month before deciding on the Mercier floor. It is 3 1/4" red oak natural premium (not classic) satin finish (not semigloss). This floor can be glued, nailed OR floated. Ask the installer what would be the best method for your type of sub floor. Also, make sure you ask about the extra supply cost of glue vs. floating. I actually wound up gluing because my contractor told me my floor (which was a concrete slab) was very uneven and I needed to use a leveling product first. The glues and the leveling products were very expensive and the smell was horrible for a few days (we spent three of those days away). Lukily, the results were beautiful. It cleans up very nicely (I bought the mercier cleaning spray online). I already have a few dings on the floor and I can say the light color is very forgiving for dings, scratches and dust. If you have any other questions, please feel free to write again. Good luck with your project. Sincerely, Melanie1121

Lukki is right about boards; they help you think, and I have been doing them since I was a teenager. I've even saved my late mother's house boards from a college project. However, the ends to which we use them are soooo different. I think the easiest to work with are big form boards with faint lines at the half-inch. For my current house, I cut strips of blue painters tape for walls, which need to move, and taped on pretty scrap book paper for furniture, applicances, etc. I have so many paint chips over the years that I may well owe SW and BM money! Fabric is my biggest weakness--I rub the between my fingers, move them to different lights. (looking at your stuff, you may want to look at the marrimekko site). And I have executed exactly one of them. It was a 6" x8" kitchen. To me, "done" means, "I perfected it all in 2004 !!!" Furthermore, some perfectly decorated houses are very hostile to visit, as my clothes don't coordinate or something. "Grandma's kitchen"? It was "done" --all fresh and stylish once. Definately have fun with design boards. Then the next time you are looking for shoes and spot a crazy light fixture, you can say, "wow! The the black works with my surround, thing-a-ma-jigs are the same shape as those lanterns in my backsplash, and look! That not gold, it's yellow! I could hang it ____!" Or you love it and know it won't work as it, but if you change.... Since you asked, neutrals for resale make me tired. Live with the blue you like and paint it only if you want to. The mirror? So dated it is practically retro and I would absolutely keep it. The little part around the corner doesn't reflect your water, but probably cannot be removed with damaging the corner, my first thought would be a tall, skinny metal palm tree with green and white Christmas tree lights on it. You can do better. Can you raid your gandma's? For the main mirror, I can think of a whole bunch of things I would try out --most would not work my first attemp (if ever!), but when I got it right It would be fresh again and I would smile. You cannot ever work out your reflective or light-related stuff on a board--but this is about your backsplash and I digress. sounds like you are going with the wavy stainless. I never get to perfect, but you are close with that one!

Your backsplash will be a focal point in your kitchen, in the sense that it will be on a vertical surface that will be more visible than the countertop. But you will want to ensure that everything works together as a whole, so that one element does not "fight" any of the others for attention. The items that are fixed choices (for you, it sounds as if those would be your cabinets and countertop) will determine the appearance of the others (your backsplash and wall color). How they all might go together and complement each other is easier to see after your fixed choices are installed. Good to shop now, but there’s no substitute to sitting tile samples on the counter to see how they look with counters and cabinets at different times of the day and in different kinds of light. We have a similar color scheme - white quartzite counters with black veining and bright white cabinets. We're in the process of choosing a backsplash that will be beautiful and special but not so much so that it competes with the countertop for attention. And you might be surprised by how challenging it is to find a white that "goes" with other white elements in your kitchen! Also, for your outlets, you might consider plug mold installed under and at the back of the upper cabinets. Got that idea from Gardenweb - we love ours - multiple outlets just where we need them, and out of sight! Our backsplash will be interrupted by only two switchplates. Just remember that if you have an electrical device that lives on your counter, the cord may show (unless that device is tall enough - like our coffeemaker - to hide the cord). As for 3D tile - I would avoid it in the kitchen. Even if the type of cooking you do doesn’t produce a lot of grease or splatter, the 3D tile will provide more surfaces on which dust will settle. You can provide plenty of backsplash interest with a beautiful glaze or pattern.